Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kate Ruppert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kate, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I never started out wanting to be a creative–I only ever wanted to be a mom. I am a child of the 80’s and young girls weren’t by any means encouraged to pursue a career at all, let alone outside of a teacher or a nurse. My mom was stay-at-home until she became a teacher, all my friends moms were stay-at-home…it was the suburban South, women moved out of their parents’ house and into their husband’s house. I absolutely thought that would be me, I wasn’t truly exposed to anything otherwise. So I leaned in fiercely to wanting to be a wife and a mom. I am a middle child, only girl, natural caretaker…is there another path I could possible take with my life? No, never considered it.

Well, none of that even came close to happening.

I fled the suburban South in pursuit of doing anything at all different from what my peers were doing, and I was unreconciled with still truly wanting to be a wife and a mom. It’s all I knew to do, I knew I would be so insanely good at that role–and I had no other “skills.” The word “Creative” never not once entered my mind. I have always been funny and a writer, but writing professionally has always felt like homework–not for me. I went to NYU to be a film producer but that industry is almost utterly UNcreative and exceptionally savage, so I quit my first job at a talent agency right out of college, and I started working retail until I found something to justify what my parents had just spent on my college education. WHAT DO I DO WITH MY LIFE? I was completely at a loss for what to do with my life. Retail? Like, no…right……????

Working retail was the best thing that ever happened to me. As someone with no drug habit and a solid work ethic, I was a hot commodity in the LA retail scene and I was “store manager” in no time. 💅🏽 I was in charge. I was great at being in charge. I was great at working the customers with charm and a little routine and making them laugh and endearing myself and having these grown-up interactions–and all the while I am managing a staff of younger women coming into their own. At this point, I’d had really done some shit and made some mistakes and was living utterly on my own, so I had some wisdom and I was always honest and since I was born to Mom, I was a good boss and the Creative in me began to pivot and grow from there…. My natural superpower of caretaking had shifted from domestic to professional; and there were no longer little kids as my goal or audience, but peers and colleagues.

Without really knowing it at the time, I was transitioning from “I want to be a mom” to “I am Mother.”

But in 2006, when I got my first real job at a desk, Mother was by no means a vibe–that was decades away. I was constantly and consistently placed in jobs and situations where I was cultivating a personality of big-sister-cool-aunt energy fueled by a single, independent, unapologetic life. I was an egg donor in 2007 that sent the Mother into hyperdrive. It was an isolating, adult, life-changing experience that allowed me another set of opinions, a new avenue of authority and another facet to my learned wisdom.

Since that era of my life–20 years ago–I have spent quite literally every day of my life trying to become who I want to be. What I want to be. How I want to be. Where I want to be. I do it alone, with my pets, my paycheck and my opinions and voice. And now that Mother is a role I can play with legitimately, I am ready to finally become the Creative that’s been the gas in the tank all along. My creativity has designed my personality, my style, my writing, how I deliver my words, how I enter the room, how I hold the conversation. I am a natural podcaster, and it took figuring out what kind of Mother I am to realize I want to use the platform to reach all my “Kids.”

Kate, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I came about this point in my life by default.

I was not trying to be wise or influential, I was never trying to be smart or funny or relevant, I was just only ever trying to keep my head above water and keep up with the adults. Adults have autonomy.

When I strayed from my education to work retail until I found my purpose (still figuring out the purpose part decades later), I did so understanding I’d be on my own and my parents would not be involved–and only relatively supportive. When I applied to donate my eggs because I needed money, I did so knowing I’d have to stand by that decision in the face of a time when egg donation was an insane idea, and all my peers would have talked me out of it. When I moved from LA to NYC, I had to own the financial impacts and social reset that entailed, and understand I’d be essentially starting over.

But I was ready. I knew I had to move forward *differently* than I was. I knew that I *knew*who I was and I just had to be Her. I think we all have that moment, its whether we acknowledge that moment is real and act on it.

When I make the choice to do the thing, I do it with not only full conviction, but also full confidence. NO part of me questions if I have earned or if I deserve the opportunity, I take it. I know Me well enough at this point to know if it is an authentic Me choice/boundary.
And based on how people have responded to whomst I am over the past 30 years, I’ve figured out what works, and how to leverage what I bring to the table. The Creative in me is adaptable, insightful and present—those have been fundamental building blocks to paving my own way.
I’ve had my own lane because I was vulnerable early on, stating my desired place.
I’ve had my own lane because I didn’t have the luxury of declining or questioning decisions.
I’ve had my own lane because I stood by what I chose.
I *have* my own lane now because I am more savvy in navigating all life throws, and on the daily, I encourage others–especially young women–to figure out who they are and what they want because no one does that for you.
The podcast I am making is an ongoing, present-moment conversation about moments of autonomy and vulnerability, growth and ultimately boundaries we lay down to discover and nurture who we are.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew that creativity came in all shapes and sizes, forms and functions.
I wish I knew that having a mind of your own is a creative pursuit in and of itself,
I wish I’d known that me as Me is enough, and my “creativity” or personality having a genre or category isn’t the be all and end all.
I wish I’d known that a vibe (Mother ✨) that I knew I had inside my being from the start, was legitimate–even if it took a couple generations and rule breakers to give it a name and bring it to life.
The resources I had access to were moot until I knew who I was and how I wanted to use them. It turns out, I was my most robust and prolific re/source the whole time but “being a Creative” feels so elusive that you have to be determined to define it for yourself, to come into your version of it.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

This is the time.
I have a job with a desk, insurance and a 401K with a lot of stability and visibility.
But so what? Is this what I want to do? Do I just want to facilitate everyone else’s needs? Do I want to write in the company format according to company guidelines and dress by the company dress code? Do I always want to speak as if I have an NDA? Is this the boss I want to work for longterm?
Is this my “purpose”?
That’s why I’m here.
I have not already made the pivot; I am making it right now.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathrynruppe/
• Other: Podcast Sample: *Rules May Apply … https://rss.com/podcasts/rules-may-apply/